Assembly Westchester Delegation Up In Arms

All eight of the Assembly members whose districts include parts of Westchester County voted “no” on the education budget this morning, saying they felt the county got short-changed in so-called “high tax aid” that largely benefitted the Long Island districts that are a priority for the GOP-controlled Senate.

The delegation includes six Democrats (Richard Brodsky, Adam Bradley, Sandra Galef, Gary Pretlow, George Latimer, and Amy Paulin) and two Republicans (Greg Ball and MikeÂ Spano).

The aid was designed to make up for the fact that the foundation formula for distribution of state education dollars, championed by Gov. Eliot Spitzer, broke the traditional “shares” system that was based on enrollment numbers rather than need and enabled wealthy Long Island districts to consistently receive 13 percent.

According to the budget passed this morning,Â the formula for high tax aid will be computed in part based on public school district enrollmentÂ for countiesÂ withÂ a high property tax burden.

Under this formula, Suffolk County will receive $39.5 million, Nassau CountyÂ $31 million, Orange County $10 million, Putnam County $2.5 million, Ulster County $4 million and Westchester County $1.6 million.

Adding insult to injury, lawmakers said, is the fact that the wealthiest districts in these counties end up with the most aid as the result of higher property values.

Bradley,Â of WhiteÂ Plains, saidÂ was baffled by the fact that WestchesterÂ will receive so little, particularly in light of aÂ recent report by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, which found Westchester County residents payÂ some of the highest property taxes in the country – higher even than Nassau County residents.

“This punches holes the size of swiss cheese in what was supposed to be a foundation aid formula,” Bradley said. “This is just pork money in my opinion. What’s problematic is that it wasn’t distributed in any way that’s fair or equitable.”Â

The Westchester Assembly Democrats sent a letter to Spitzer today on Brodsky’s letterhead, calling the high tax aid “unfair” and asking for a meeting toÂ “discuss this matter and immediate remedies.”

“This might have been a pro-CFE budget for New York City,” Brodsky said, referring to the efforts to address a longstanding lawsuit thatÂ found high-needs NYC districts have long failed to receive their fair share of school aid. “But it’s completely anti-CFE and anti-middle class for the rest of the state.”

“That the governor accepted this is almost bizarre. It somehow asserts that Westchester has no high tax problem and Nassau and Suffolk do, while Westchester’s burden is basically the same as Nassau’s and no one disputes that.”

This morning, Brodsky confronted Spitzer, who visited the Assembly chamber after the budget was passed, to ask whether the governorÂ had heard Westchester lawmakers express their displeasure during the floor debate. Spitzer confessed the TV had been on mute. He also professed not to be familiar with the fine points of high tax aid and how itÂ will affect Westchester.

Bradley said he did not place any blame for Westchester’s woes on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, noting the speaker has a large conference to manage, the majority of which supported the education budget.

In the Senate, all four senators whose districts include parts of Westchester voted in favor of the education budget despite the high tax aid discrepancy, including freshman Democratic Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who represents the city of Yonkers, whichÂ as a high-needs school district.

The other senators were: Jeff Klein and Suzi Oppenheimer, both Democrats, andÂ VincentÂ Leibell, a Republican.